Vehicle

2013 Dodge Dart SE 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 6M)

Review

I have the lowest end car available that I picked up at a great price in January 2013. The design work on the car looks great inside and out. The interior is nicer than you would expect from a base model. The dashboard was designed for the nicer electronic touch-screen interface, which my car does not have, but the manual system looks nice and functions well. It has a roomy interior with adequate cargo, although smaller than expected. The car has a sporty feel while driving (especially with a 6 speed manual), but it does not reach advertised mpg, and can be somewhat difficult to shift smoothly at first. It cruises smoothly on the freeway and handles well better than similar sedans.

Favorite Features

I love the exterior lights, new dodge logo on the rear, aggressive front end styling and smooth overall image.
The seats are very nicely upholstered with body-hugging edges front and back.
The dashboard is smooth and somewhat elegant with a large glove box.
Fun to drive and fairly responsive for a base model.
Slightly larger size than other compacts with a bit roomier interior.

Suggested Improvements

Fuel economy is less than expected/advertised. I can only get about 33 mpg freeway, and the in-dash display is always about 3-4 mpg over the true mpg calculated manually.
The stereo functions as expected but the sound leaves something to be desired.
I personally do not like the close ratio gearing as I feel I have to shift very quickly out of 1st gear, and it decreases the fuel economy.
The cargo space is smaller than expected given the car's larger dimensions and weight.

† Edmunds.com received the highest numerical score in the proprietary J.D. Power 2014 Third-Party Automotive Website Evaluation Study℠. Results based on responses from 3,381 responses, measuring 14 companies and measures third-party automotive website usefulness among new and used vehicle shoppers. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of owners surveyed from January 2014. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.